The Costume Journal is dedicated to my adoration of luscious silks, bundles of historical patterns, sewing projects, and every costumed event that has ever given me an excuse to make a new outfit from a by-gone era.

Sunday, December 19, 2004

The Jedi Cloak is all finished, and ready to ship out. I finished the last of the seams today, and hemmed it up. I finally decided to go ahead and add a pleat to the shoulder area. I think the end result really looks nice, and the large spacious hood is exactly what I would expect to find in the Star Wars costume room. At a futur date, my friend might look into the matching tunics to make a complete Jedi costume (out of silk noil!), but for now, this wraps up my jaunt into Star Wars sewing.

I'm going to wait until after Christmas (to see if I have any new patterns or fabric funds) before deciding what my next project should be.

Saturday, December 11, 2004

The final decision that I need to make on the cloak is whether or not I would like to alter the sleeves. The top picture shows the nice drape that results from a small pleat make right at the shoulder of the garment. The bottom picture is the sleeves as they look right now. I need advise. Which do you guys think looks better??? Again, if you need to see the real cloak, click here.

After this, I just need to finish a few more seams that are still raw, and hem the bottom to the correct legnth. That should be interesting since this is a gift, and that certain someone doesn't live in the area. A lot of careful measuring will be called for.

The next step was altering the hood. I really disliked the way the hood on the pattern came to a point in the back. It looked a bit moroccan, but it wasn't what I was going for. I first tried to round out the pattern peice that came with the Simplicity pattern, but the hood wasn't big enough, and it still seemed to come to a point. I also didn't care for the seam placement or the pleats it used.

Instead of messing with the old pattern, I decided to make an entirely new hood. The Padawan's Guide had great directions that I was able to follow. The result was the second picture: it's larger, rounder, and falls the way it should in the back. The hood began as a large rectangle, and was gathered onto the neckline to the make the hood. On the front, the hood will even fold over a bit over the shoulders which is exactly what they did in the movies.

The gorgeous camel wool fabric for the Jedi Robes arrived this week, and the project is well under way. As a Simplicity costume pattern, it was very easy and quick to assemble. However, there were several alterations I wanted to make to the pattern to make the finished product nicer. Today, I started with the back of the robe. I noticed that the cloak was lying very flat, and wasn't draping as nicely as it could with such a nice wool. So, I added to pleats at the neckline in the back, which now helps the drape in the back.

About Me

After seeing the Opera of Leningrad's costumes when I was 9, and a visit to the Musee de la Mode et de la Costume when I was 10, I was hooked. My sewing and historical clothing education have been through reading alone. I have a busy full-time career that has nothing to do with costuming - historical costuming is my creative outlet.

Commissions

I gladly accept commissions for period historical clothes. I will do my best to work with your budget. All requests will receive a free project proposal. Contact me through thecostumediva@gmail.com. I look forward to working with you and designing the outfit of your dreams.